Steve Bruce has told his players not to panic as Birmingham bid to halt their Barclaycard Premiership slump against Chelsea.

City looked to be well on the way to securing a second season in the top flight when a 1-1 home draw with Everton on Boxing Day moved them onto the 25-point mark.

Since then they have managed to collect just one point from the last six games after a daunting run of fixtures which has included Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal.

It has left them too close to the relegation zone for comfort although Blues still have a safety net of six points over third from bottom West Brom.

But Bruce is staying calm and is convinced his side will pull clear once their cluster of new players bed in at the club and key performers return from injury.

He said ahead of tomorrow's St Andrews clash: "It is important not to panic.

"We know the situation. We always knew when the fixtures came out that this was going to be our toughest time of the season - and it has been.

"But we've still got plenty of the season left. We've still got all the clubs that are around us in the table to play at home. It's in our hands and we are still six points above the bottom three.

"We've got ourselves into a decent position because of the start we had up until Christmas and we've had a tough time over the last six weeks.

"We all have them. Even the great clubs have lean spells now and again. We've just got to get over ours - and I'm sure we will.

"Because of the injuries, we've had to bring four or five new people in at once which is not ideal and the more they play together, the better they will become.

Bruce has nothing but admiration for Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola, whom he rates one of the best of the foreign imports.

And he believes the Londoners have now added to a consistency to their game as City look to avenge a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season.

Bruce said: "We are again playing very good opposition who probably gave us the biggest hiding we have so far received in the Premiership down at their place.

"We know what we will be up against. You look at their squad and you know that on their day they are a match for any Premiership side including Arsenal and Manchester United. They've also now found a consistency as well.

"They've possibly got the best two centre-halves in the division in (William) Gallas and (Marcel) Desailly and, if you think of the imports, then Zola has got to be one of the best.

"He is a fantastic talent, a great ambassador for the way he looks after himself, the way he plays and the way he handles himself.

"He would be in my all-time Premiership team and up there with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Eric Cantona as one of the very best."

Bruce will be boosted by the return of Senegal skipper Aliou Cisse, who suffered a calf injury in the 1-1 draw at Blackburn three weeks ago.

Striker Geoff Horsfield is also pushing for a place in the 16 after making a quickfire return from a hernia operation.